Nurse accuses boss of assault

A nursing assistant who was allegedly assaulted by the director of nursing at Tembisa Hospital is being treated for post-traumatic stress.

An assault case against the director, Wilfred Mothwane has been postponed to March 14.

Nursing assistant Thuli Hlatswayo said the alleged assault in November had left her traumatised. “I have been struggling to cope and I become stressed whenever I have to come to work,” she told Health-e News.

Hlatswayo claims she was victimised because of her activities as a shop-steward. “All of this started after I took part in protest action by employees in August 2018. Another protest took place in November 2018 and a day later I was assaulted.”

Shifts

She said that after returning to work after a march, she was informed that her shifts would be changed and this was not up for discussion.

“I had been on the same shift since 2010 and thought it was unreasonable for them to suddenly change them. My attempts to negotiate with management led to me being assaulted by Mr Mothwane, who grabbed me by my clothes and shoved me so hard I fell.” Hlatswayo accused the hospital of not taking disciplinary action against Mothoana.

However, hospital spokesperson Nothando Mdluli said an external investigating official had been appointed. “We understand that the external investigator has conducted interviews and now management awaits the outcome of the report,” Mdluli said, adding that the hospital took allegations of assault seriously.

“An incident of assault is considered serious misconduct hence management has conducted an investigation in this regard.”

Hlatswayo, who wants to be transferred to another facility, was assaulted by a patient in 2017.

“I am struggling to cope. The stress is too much for me to handle,” she said. – Health-e News